‘Champai Da aap tiger hi rahenge…’: Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi ‘welcomes’ Soren to ‘NDA family’

Amid speculation over former Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren’s next move, Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Sunday “welcomed” him to the “NDA family”.

In a post on X, he described Soren as a “tiger” and said that he was and “will remain a tiger”. “Champai da, you were a tiger, you are a tiger and will remain a tiger. Welcome to the NDA family. Johar Tiger,” Jitan Ram Manjhi posted on X.

Earlier, former Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren said he felt “insulted” during his tenure and added that till the next Jharkhand Assembly elections, “all options are open for him”.

He also listed several instances where he was not allowed to convene a legislative caucus meeting and was asked to resign suddenly, prompting him to “seek an alternative path.”

Read also: Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren lists three options amid rumours of joining BJP: ‘After so much insult…’

In a long post on X, Champai Soren He said that he has always done politics in public interest, from raising the voice of workers against industrial houses at the beginning of his public life to the Jharkhand movement.

“I have been trying to get the rights of tribals, natives, poor, workers, students and backward class people in the state. Whether I have held any office or not, I have always been available to the public, raising the issues of those people who had dreamed of a better future in the state of Jharkhand,” he said.

“Meanwhile, on January 31, after an unprecedented turn of events, I was elected by the Indian Alliance to serve the state as the 12th Chief Minister of Jharkhand. From the first day of my tenure till the last day (July 3), I discharged my duties towards the state with complete devotion and dedication. During this period, we took many decisions in public interest and as always, we were always available for all. The people of the state will evaluate the decisions we took keeping in mind the elderly, women, youth, students and all sections of society and all people of the state,” he added.

Champai Soren further stated that during his tenure, he never did anything wrong to anyone nor allowed anyone to do anything wrong.

“Meanwhile, the day after Hal Diwas, I came to know that all my programmes for the next two days had been postponed by the party leadership. One of them was a public programme at Dumka, while the other was to distribute appointment letters to PGT teachers. On enquiring, I came to know that the coalition had called a legislative party meeting for July 3, till then you cannot attend any programme as CM,” said Soren.

Read also: Champai Soren to join BJP? Former Jharkhand CM says ‘we are in this world…’

“Can there be anything more humiliating in a democracy than a Prime Minister’s programmes being cancelled by someone else?” he listed the bitter experiences he faced during his tenure.

The former Jharkhand chief minister, who has had an impeccable political record for the last four decades, is completely shattered from within.

“I didn’t know what to do. For two days I sat in silence, pondering, searching for my fault in the whole incident. I didn’t have an iota of lust for power, but who could I show this blow to my self-esteem? Where could I express the pain inflicted on me by my own people?” he said.

Champai Soren stressed that when the central executive meeting of the party has not been held for years and unilateral orders are given, who should one approach and tell his problems?

He also said that he is one of the highest ranking members of the party and that if the supremo had been active, then the situation would have been different.

Read also: Champai Soren feels ‘insulted’ to be replaced by Hemant Soren as Jharkhand CM, decision likely to be taken today

“Though the Prime Minister has the right to call a meeting of the legislative party, I was not even told the agenda of the meeting. During the meeting, I was asked to resign. I was shocked, but I had no greed for power, so I resigned immediately, my heart was emotional due to the blow to my self-esteem. I was so emotional about the insulting behaviour I was facing for the last three days that I was trying to control my tears, but they were only interested in the chair. I felt that I had no existence in that party, no existence at all, to which I had dedicated my entire life. In the meantime, many such insulting incidents happened, which I do not want to mention now. After so much insult and contempt, I was forced to look for an alternative path,” Champai added.

Champai Soren also mentioned in X that after the same legislative party meeting, he had three options, first to retire from politics, second, to form his own separate organisation and third, if he finds a partner in this path, then to travel further with him.

“From that day till today, and till the next Jharkhand Assembly elections, all options are open to me in this journey,” Soren said.

“One more thing, this is my personal struggle, so I have no intention of involving any member of the party in it or causing any harm to the organisation. We can never think of harming the party that we have nurtured with our blood and sweat. But such circumstances have been created that…” he added.

Champai Soren was sworn in as the 12th Chief Minister of Jharkhand on February 2 this year. He resigned from office on July 3, just a day before Hemant Soren, the executive president of JMM, assumed charge as the 13th Chief Minister on July 4.

Read also: Who is the ‘tiger of Jharkhand’ Champai Soren? Five facts about the new chief minister who replaced Hemant Soren

Hemant Soren was released from jail on June 28 after the high court granted him bail. On July 3, he was elected as the leader of the JMM legislature party. Following this, Champai Soren submitted his resignation to the governor, clearing the way for Hemant Soren to be sworn in as Chief Minister for the third time.

Responding to Champai Soren’s resignation, Jharkhand BJP chief Babulal Marandi said the JMM has become a “one-family party”.

“Champai Soren ji, who had dedicated his entire life to the party, was humiliated and removed from the post of chief minister. His rights were violated and his programmes were forcibly cancelled,” he said.

Senior JMM leader and minister Mithilesh Thakur said Champai Soren is the senior leader of the party and if there is any problem, it will be resolved.

“JMM is a family and if there is any problem in the family, it will be resolved within the family,” he said.

In the 2019 assembly elections, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) secured a comfortable majority with 47 seats in the 81-member house, having contested in alliance with the Congress and Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

(With contributions from agencies)